Chinese senior bankers subjected to stricter standards

Senior management of China's financial enterprises under the central government will have less discretion in running their firms.

Furthermore China will strictly standardize supervision of their pay and bonuses as a measure to narrow the income gap, Premier Wen Jiabao said at the just concluded annual session of the National People's Congress, China's parliament.

A new regulation will guide financial enterprises under the jurisdiction of the central government to attach equal importance to both profit-generating and risk-control, and to increase the number of "high-quality socialist bankers."

The regulation makes explicit provisions on the qualifications, appointment, promotion, performance evaluation of senior bank managers, and supervision over them.

The regulation states that performance evaluation will be a key element in appointing and promoting senior managers.